Dispensing heads or applicators for bottles, tubes and like containers



Nov. 1, 1966 J. P. RAFFE 3,281,887

DISPENSING HEADS OR APPLICATORS FOR BOTTLES, TUBES AND LIKE CONTAINERSFiled July 20, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 In ven to r JOSEPH PETE? PAP/=5 Attorn e yS Nov. 1, 1966 J. P. RAFFE 3,281,337 DISPENSING HEADS ORAPPLICATORS FOR BOTTLES, TUBES AND LIKE CONTAINERS Filed July 20. 1964 5Sheets-Sheet 2 l n venlor JasEPw PErER PAFFE A ttorneyS J. P. RAFFE3,281,887 R APPLIGATORS FOR BOTTLES, TUBES Nov. 1, 1966 DISPENSING HEADS0 AND LIKE CONTAINERS 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 20, 1964 InventorJSEP/l PETER PAFFE By Attorneys Nov. 1, 1966 J. P. RAFFE 3,281,887DISPENSING HEADS OR APPLICATORS FOR BOTTLES, TUBES AND LIKE CONTAINERSFiled July 20, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Inventor JasEPH PETER PAFFEAHorneyS Nov. 1, 1966 J. P. RAFFE 3,231,837

DISPENSING HEADS OR APPLICATORS FOR BOTTLES, TUBES AND LIKE CONTAINERS 5Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed July 20, 1964 Inventor JOSEPH PETER PH Byfifify/lfi m Attorneys United States Patent 3,231,837 DIPENSING HEADS 0RAPPLICATORS FOR BOTTLE, TUBES AND LIKE CONTAINERS .loseph Peter Raffe,London, England, assignor to Reckitt and Colman (flverseas) Limited,Hull, East Yorkshire, England, a British company Filed July 20, 1964,Ser. No. 383,744 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Aug. 12,1963, 31,753/63 8 Claims. (Cl. -569) This invention concernsimprovements in or relating to dispensing devices or applicators forbottles, tubes and like containers which are intended to contain liquidsor other readily flowable materials to be dispensed in controlledamounts.

It is a common practice to pack liquids such as shoe or furniturepolishes, or cleaners, window cleaning preparations, certainembrocations and liquids for application to the human body as well assauces and essences for human consumption in bottles, tubes or likecontainers, having dispensing devices or applicators on the outlet ofthe container. Many of these liquids are either volatile or tend tocongeal if exposed to atmospheric air so that it is important to providea substantially air tight closure for the container. Again it isdesirable that a user can dispense only a controlled quantity of theliquid through the applicator. In many cases such as cleaners, polishes,and embrocations and similar liquids it is known to incorporate in theapplicator fitted to the container a sponge like pad which absorbsliquid from the container and enables it to be app-lied as required.

There are a number of fundamental requirements for a satisfactorydispensing device or applicator, for containers for the above liquids.These are firstly that the applicator shall securely seal the contentsbefore the container is sold. Secondly the applicator should be ablefollowing a simple action on the part of the user to permit a controlledflow of the contents out of the container. Thirdly the applicator mustenable the container to be simply reclosed securely without risk ofleakage or seepage of the contents when the container is inverted oraccidentally squeezed. Finally the applicator should be such that it canbe easily and cheaply mass produced for use with disposable containers.

Various proposals for applicators have been made which comply with somebut not all these requirements. Thus applicators having an absorbent padare mounted above a frangible or pierceable cover for the container anda drawing pin is provided to pierce the cover for the discharge of thecontents. Again an applicator is known in which a valve member withinthe applicator is initially so disposed that it closes the exit passagefor liquid, and a plunger pin carrying an absorbent pad is movable insuch passage to displace the valve member to an open position fordischarge of the liquid.

In both the above cases reclosing of the container is impossible sincethe pierced cover cannot be rescaled in the first case while the valvemember cannot be returned to its closed position in the second case.Thus if either container, once opened, is overturned or squeezed liquidis liable to flow out into the cap which is usually provided.

There have also been various proposals embodying spring urged memberswhich open in response to pressure exerted on the head of the applicatorduring use. Such proposals have several disadvantages. The use ofseparate springs involves additional expense and complication. Ingeneral only a thin pad of material can be used in the applicator headsince pressure has to be transmitted through it to open the valve, andif a thick pad was used the application of pressure would tend tosqueeze the contents out of the pad.

328L837 Patented Nov. 1, 1966 ice It is an object of this invention toprovide an improved dispensing device for bottles, tubes and othercontainers Which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and assembleand which complies with all the fundamental requirements set forth abovewhile avoid-ing the disadvantages of the above mentioned priorproposals.

According to the invention there is provided a dispensing device for acontainer, comprising a dispensing head including a body portion havingintermediate its ends an integral and flexible inwardly directed pleator fold, a valve member, an apertured dispensing member at one end ofsaid body and a cap engageable with the said dispensing member, saidpleat or fold serving when the cap is moved towards the other end ofsaid body to cause relative movement between the valve member anddispensing member to prevent flow therethrough, while movement of thecap in the opposite direction releases the dispensing member formovement in a flow permitting direction in response to the flexibilityof the said pleat or fold.

Where a dispensing head according to the invention is to be used with acontainer which is itself flexible e.g. a bottle or tube ofthermoplastic the said body portion may be made of a material which ismerely flexible and has little or no resilience since a squeeze appliedto the container after releasing the cap will serve to move thedispensing member in a flow permitting direction. Where however the headis to be used with a rigid, e.g. glass, container the body portion ofthe head will be made of a material which is both flexible andresilient, e.g. polyethylene, so that on release of the cap theresilience of the pleat or fold will cause the dispensing member andvalve member to separate to permit flow through the apertured dispensingmember.

The said dispensing head according to the invention may be attached tothe discharge end of a container e.g. a bottle, tube or jar in anyconvenient manner. Thus it may engage either internally or externally ofthe neck of such container. If desired it may be made to make a tightfit with the neck, or it may make threaded engagement with thecontainer.

Preferably means such for example as screw threads, lugs or projections,engageable vith corresponding threads, lugs or projections on theinterior of the cap, are provided adjacent the said other end of thedispensing head to assist in the engagement of the cap with the saidbody portion.

Where the dispensing head is mounted over the neck of an associatedcontainer such means will preferably be formed on the exterior of thebody portion and will be nearer said other end thereof than said pleator fold. Where however the dispensing head is fitted within the neck ofthe container such means e.g. threads, lugs or projections will beprovided on the exterior of the neck of the container.

According to another feature of the invention there is provided acontainer formed at least partly of a flexible material having adispensing head as above set forth integral therewith.

Where the dispensing head is to be separately attached to the containerthe apertured dispensing member may if desired be made integrally Withthe body portion. Where however as is preferred the dispensing head isintegral with the container the apertured dispensing member will be madeseparately from the body portion and can be attached thereto in anyconvenient manner. Thus the dispensing member can be engaged eitherinternally or externally of the said one end of the body portion.

Various forms of apertured dispensing member may be provided dependingon the intended use of the dispensing head. Thus the said member mayhave a single discharge aperture therethrough or several such apertures.

In one embodiment of the invention the dispensing member is of taperedelongate form and constitutes a discharge nozzle.

If desired, however, the dispensing member may have on its outer surfacea seating for an absorbent pad, sponge or wad which upon receivingliquid through an aperture in the member serves to distribute the liquidover a surface to which it is to be applied. Where the apertureddispensing member is intended to receive a sponge or like absorbent padit will preferably also have a flange or simi lar projection disposedoutwardly of the seating which serves to make engagement with the capthereby to avoid direct engegemant of the cap with the absorbent pad orsponge upon closing.

Where it is desired to close the dispensing head when it is not in use,e.g. where an absorbent pad or sponge is included in the head, the capwill cover the whole of the upper surface of the head. Where however thesaid apertured dispensing member merely has a sprinkler hole or holestherethrough, the cap may be of annular form so that the sprinkler holesare always exposed, opening or closing of the flow passage to the holeor holes being effected by moving the annular cap towards or away fromthe said other end of the body portion.

Preferably the said valve member is of the kind having a tapered sealingportion, which is engageable in sealing fashion in the or each dischargeaperture in the said dispensing member.

The shape of said valve member will, of course, depend upon the size andnumber of the apertures in the dispensing member or on the shape andsize of the flow passage leading to such aperture or apertures. In somearrangements the said pleat or fold may carry the valve member of thedispensing head. However so as to ensure that the valve member is heldstationary during movement of the dispensing member and pleat or fold inoperation it is preferred to mount the valve member on a part, e.g. aninwardly projecting shoulder, of the head nearer to the said other endthereof than is said pleat or fold. Such an effect may, alternatively,be achieved by arranging for a part of or associated with the valvemember to engage with a part of the interior of a container when thehead is placed on the latter; for example, where the container is notvery deep, the valve member could have an extension adapted to engagethe base of the container upon application of the head thereto so as tohold the valve member against movement towards such base.

In general said valve member will comprise a sealing portion and amounting portion which will permit a flow of liquid from a containerpast the valve when the device is in use.

The said valve member may be a separate member mountable within the heador where a separate dispensing member is provided may be formedintegrally with a part of said body portion which will not, inoperation, move when said pleat is opened or closed. Where a separatevalve member is provided and is to be carried on the opposite side ofsaid pleat from the apertured dispensing member, the valve member ispreferably formed of resilient material so as to enable it to bedeformed for insertion into the body past the pleat or fold, whereafterit will resume its original shape to make engagement with the bodyportion on said opposite side of the pleat.

In order that the invention may be well understood, certain embodimentsthereof will now be described by way of example only and with referenceto the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 shows in half section a first embodiment of a container andintegral dispensing device according to the invention with the valveopen but without its cap;

FIGURE 2 shows a view in section of half of the dispensing device ofFIGURE 1 but with the cap in position and the valve closed;

FIGURE 3 shows a cross section on line III-III of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a side elevation of the valve member of the dispensing head;

FIGURE 5 is a top plan view of the valve member of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 shows the valve member of FIGURES 4 and 5 in its compressedcondition ready for insertion in the dispensing head;

FIGURE 7 is a side elevation of an alternative form of valve membershowing, in dashed lines, the position it assumes during insertion intothe head;

FIGURE 8 is an underneath plan view of such valve member;

FIGURE 9 shows, in vertical medial cross-section, the top of a containerhaving an integral dispensing device in accordance with a secondembodiment of the invention, the device being in its closed condition;

FIGURE 10 is a side elevation of a container having a nozzle and anintegral dispensing device in accordance with a third embodiment of theinvention;

FIGURE 11 is a crossasection on the line XIXI of FIGURE 10; and

FIGURE 12 is a vertical medial cross-section of the top of a containercarrying a separate dispensing device according to a fourth embodimentof the invention; the dispensing devices being in their open conditionin the embodiments of FIGURES 10 to 12.

Referring first to FIGS. 1 to 6 of the drawings, 1 indicate a blownthermoplastic bottle intended to carry a liquid shoe cleaningpreparation and incorporating an integral dispensing head 2.

At one end 4 the body portion of the head 2 has an apertured dispensingmember 5 engaged thereon in a liquid tight manner. This member 5 has aseating 6 on its upper surface in which an absorbent pad 7 is mounted.Seating 6 is inset from the edge of member 5 to leave a shoulder 8against which a shoulder 9 on the interior or a cap 3 (FIG. 2) engagesas will be explained hereinafter.

Dispensing member 5 has an aperture 10 extending centrally therethrough.The underside of the walls of aperture 10 are tapered at 11 to mate withthe tapered end 12 of a valve member 13.

An annular shoulder 23 is formed on the underside of member 5 and servesto prevent any displacement of valve member 13 during use of thecontainer.

The other end 15 of the body portion of the dispensing head has anexternal multi-start screw thread 16 engageable wit-h an internal thread17 on cap 3; in this embodiment a four-start thread is provided.

The valve member 13 (see FIGS. 4 to 6) has a crosspiece 14 past thesides of which liquid may How to the end 4 of the body. Two oppositelyfacing legs 19 and 2 0 depend from the cross-piece 14, each leg beingformed with an arcuate rebate 21. The space between the legs 19 and 20extends up beneath the tapered end 12 of the valve member, to form aV-shaped groove 22 extending somewhat into the underside of thecross-piece 14.

Between the ends 4 and 15 of the body portion an integral resilientinwardly directed bellows fold or pleat 18 is formed. This fold or pleat18 extends inwardly towards the valve member 13 in the space between thecross-piece 14 and the legs 19 and 20 depending therefrom, thecross-piece 14 being supported just clear of the pleat when the valve isopen.

Below the pleat or fold 18 the body portion of the dispensing head hasan inwardly directed annular shoulder 26 which engages in the rebates 21of the legs 19 and 20 of the valve member 13 and thus holds the valvemember against movement when the pleat or fold is caused to close.

The tapered end 12, crossapiece 14 and legs 19 and 20 of the valvemember are formed integrally from a resilient material such aspolyethylene or polypropylene and it will be understood that theprovision of the groove 22 under the cross-piece 14 enables the wholemember to be distorted into the position which is shown in FIG. 6 sothat, to insert the valve member in the dispensing head, it may bepressed into the same from the top whereupon engagement of the legs 19and 24 with the pleat causes them to be urged inwardly to such distortedcondition in which they can pass by the pleat, whereafter the legsspring apart again for the rebates 21 thereof to engage with theshoulder 26 as shown in FIG. 1. Return of the valve member to itsundistorted shape is assisted when the cross-piece 14 pressed down on tothe top of the pleat 18 upon insertion so that the cross-piece isflattened out and the legs 19 and 20 swing outwardly.

When the cap 3 is placed upon the dispensing head 2 (see FIG. 2) it willbe seen that shoulder 9 abuts on shoulder 8 of the apertured dispensingmember 5 and threads 16 and 17 interengage. Upon tightening the carponto the head by means of the threads, member 5 is moved towards end ofthe body portion and the angle embraced by the pleat or fold 18 isreduced thus causing tapered end 12 of valve member 13 to close aperture10. In this position flow through the aperture 10 is completelyprevented even though the bottle may be inverted.

Downward displacement of the valve member 13 upon such closing is, ofcourse, prevented by the engagement of its legs 19 and 20 with theshoulder 26 of the dispensing head.

When the liquid is again to be used the cap is removed and theresilience of the pleat or fold 18 causes dispensing member 5 to moveupwardly away from valve member 13 so as to permit flow past the valvemember 13 to the pad 7.

In an alternative arrangement the valve member 13 could be of hollowthin-walled construction and in this case need not be slotted at itsbase as the flexibility of its wall would then be suflicient to permitfolding of the cross-piece 14.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show an alternative form of valve member, comprising acircular plate 27 formed with four symmetrically arranged apertures 28to permit the flow of liquid to the end 4 of the body. Two oppositelyfacing pairs of legs 29 and 30 depend from the plate 27 and, as may beseen from FIG. 8, are offset from one another. Each leg is ofsubstantially triangular shape and is formed with an arcuate rebate 31at its outwardly facing apex. On its underside, between the pairs of thelegs, the plate 27 is formed with a transverse groove 24, while thevalve member is slotted at 25 adjacent its connection to the plate 27.It will be seen that the valve member of FIGS. 7 and 8 is deformable, asshown in dot-and-dash lines in FIG. 7, to enable it to be passed by thepleat 18 of the dispensing head.

IG. 9 illustrates a second dispensing device according to the invention,in which the body portion of the dispensing head 2 is of virtually thesame form as in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 6, and is again integralwith a bottle 1. Those parts which are of the same form as thecorresponding parts in FIGS. 1 to 6 will not, therefore, be describedagain.

In the embodiment a lambs-wool bob or pad 32 is carried on a ring 33formed at one end of a supporting wire member 34 embedded at its otherend in the tapered part 12 of the valve member 13. A dispensing member35 fits on the upper end 4 of the body portion of the dispensing head asin FIGS. 1 to 6, but is in this case formed with an upstanding annularbush 36 surrounding and supporting the wire member 34 and also defininga discharge aperture 37 of the dispensing member.

The cap 38 of this embodiment screw-threadedly engages the lower end 15of the body portion of the dispensing head as in the previousembodiment, but is in this case of domed shape and is formed with aninternal shoulder 39 for engagement with the perimeter of the dispensingmember when the device is closed as illustrated.

The valve member 13 used in the embodiment illus- 6 tr-ated in FIG. 9may, of course, be replaced if desired by one of the kind shown in FIGS.7 and 8.

FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate a third embodiment of the invention, in theform of a container having a nozzle through which, by virtue of theinvention, liquid may be supplied at a rate variable between a steadystream and a drop at a time.

Here again, the body portion of the dispensing head is integral with acontainer 40 and is of the same form as in FIGS. 1 to 6 and FIG. 9, andso will not be described in detail.

In this case, however, the dispensing member takes the form of a taperedtube 41 forming a nozzle and provided with a skirt portion 42 fittingover the upper end 4 of the dispensing head. The valve member isprovided with a shaft 43 extending coaxially within the nozzle 41 andhaving a tapered end part 44 adapted to fit in the discharge aperturedefined by the hollow conical end part 45 of the nozzle when the deviceis closed. As before, closure is achieved by movement of the dispensingmember relatively to the valve member, in this case by tightening anannular cap 46 on the body portion of the dispensing head, the top ofthe cap having an inwardly projecting shoulder 47 engageable with theperimeter of the dispensing member 41. It will be understood that inthis embodiment adjustment of the annular cap 46 enables the size ofdischarge aperture to be varied; thus the rate of liquid discharge maybe adjusted as desired.

This arrangement has the advantage that it is not necessary completelyto separate the cap from the dispensing device to permit the flow ofliquid, so that any danger of the cap becoming mislaid is obviated. Wemay provide additional stop means which positively prevent completeremoval of the cap while still, of course, permitting a full range ofvariation of the Fate of liquid flow. A further advantage of thisembodiment over other nozzled containers lies in the fact that thenozzle is closed off at its extreme tip so that the whole of thecontents are completely cut off from the atmosphere when the device isclosed.

This embodiment of the invention also has the advantage that due to theabsence of cracks and crevices, threads and the like, which can comeinto contact with the contents, the container can be completely cleanedby simply wiping it over with a cloth. This, of course makes iseminently suitable for use with food products and pharmaceuticals, i.e.mustard, sauces, salad dressings and the like, or drip feeders for eyedrops or other medicaments.

The dispensing device illustrated in FIG. 12 differs from thosepreviously described in that it is not integral with a container but isof such a form that it may be separately applied to containers C of manyknown kinds which have not been especially adapted to receive it.

Thus in this case, the body portion 48 of the dispensing head is formedintegrally with the apertured dispensn-g member, which again comprises anozzle 49. The body portion is again formed with a pleat 18 and aninwardly extending shoulder 26, the latter supporting a valve mem herwhich is basically similar to that of FIGS. 10 and 11 with the exceptionthat the crosspiece 14 thereof is omitted, the reason for this beingthat the valve member will in this case be inserted in the body portionof the dispensing head from its lower end before the device is engagedon a container with the result that the presence of a cross-piece is nolonger necessary to prevent the valve member being pushed into thecontainer, as was so in the previous embodiments.

The valve member has a shaft 50 extending coaxially within the nozzle 4?and formed with a tapered end part 51 adapted to fit, when the device isclosed, in the discharge aperture 52 defined by the conical open end ofthe nozzle-shaped dispensing member 49.

The lower end of the body portion 48 of the dispensing head has anannular skirt 53 adapted to fit in the mouth of a container C, theexternal screw-thread 54 of which will cooperate with an internal thread55 of an annular cap 56 of the dispensing device. The cap 56 is formedwith an internal shoulder 57 engagable with the perimeter of the lowerpart of the dispensing member 49 so that, as before, tightening of thecap causes movement of the dispensing member relative to the valvemember to close the discharge aperture 52.

It will be clear that, in addition to its further advantag-eousfeatures, the dispensing device of FIG. 12 has nearly the sameadvantages, when applied to a container, as has that of FIGS. and 11. Itmay also, being detachable, be formed for fitting to each of acommercial range of containers having bodies of different shapes andsizes.

It will be seen that the invention provides a range of very simpledispensing devices which securely close their associated container,which can be opened and reclosed by a very simple operation, and whichcan be cheaply and easily mass produced.

It will also be understood that only one preferred embodiment by way ofexample of an integral container and dispenser head according to theinvention has been described above and that variations and modificationsmay be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A dispensing device for a container, comprising: a tubular bodyportion; an apertured dispensing member at one end of said body portionand defining a valve seat; a valve member in said body portion andcooperable with said valve seat to control flow through said dispensingmember; said tubular body portion having a permanent bellows foldtherein between its ends providing for movement of said apertureddispensing member relative to said valve member; a cap threadedlymounted on said body portion at a part thereof separated from saiddispensing member by said bellows fold and having interior shouldermeans thereon abutting a shoulder on said dispensing member spaced fromsaid valve seat; whereby said cap may be threadedly moved on saiddispensing device relative to said valve member to compress said bellowsfold and move said dispensing member toward said valve member to aclosed position or in a direction to release said dispensing member formovement to an open position.

2. A dispensing device for a container, comprising: a tubular bodyportion; an apertured dispensing member at one end of said body portionand defining a valve seat; a valve member in said body portion andcooperable with said valve seat to control fiow through said dispensingmember; said tubular body portion having a flexible bellows fold thereinbetween its ends providing for movement of said apertured dispensingmember relative to said valve member; a cap mounted on said body portionat a part thereof separated from said dispensing member by said bellowsfold and having means thereon abutting said dispensing member; and meansfor moving said cap axially of said body portion whereby said cap may bemanipulated to move said dispensing member relative to said valve memberto a closed position or to release said dispensing member for movementto an open position, said dispensing member having on its outer surfacea seating for an absorbent pad which upon receiving liquid through anaperture in the member serves to distribute the liquid over a surface towhich it is to be applied.

3. A dispensing device according to claim 2, wherein the said dispensingmember has a shoulder disposed outwardly of the pad which serves to makeengagement with the cap thereby to avoid direct engagement of the capwith the absorbent pad.

4. A dispensing device for a container, comprising: a tubular bodyportion; an apertured dispensing member at one end of said body portionand defining a valve seat; a valve member in said body portion. andcooperable with said valve seat to control flow through said dispensingmember; said tubular body portion having a flexible bellows fold thereinbetween its ends providing for movement of said apertured dispensingmember relative to said valve member; a cap mounted on said body portionat a part thereof separated from said dispensing member by said bellowsfold and having means thereon abutting said dispensing member; and meansfor moving said cap axially of said body portion whereby said cap may bemanipulated to move said dispensing member relative to said valve memberto a closed position or to release said dispensing member for movementto an open position, an absorbent device carried on a rod carried by thesaid valve member and passing through an aperture in the dispensingmember, such device being arranged to receive liquid through saidaperture and serving to distribute the liquid over a surface to which itis to be applied.

5. A dispensing device for a container, comprising: a tubular bodyportion; an apertured dispensing member at one end of said body portionand defining a valve seat; a valve member in said body portion andcooperable with said valve seat to control flow through said dispensingmember; said tubular body portion having a flexible bellows fold thereinbetween its ends providing for movement of said apertured dispensingmember relative to said valve member; a cap mounted on said body portionat a part thereof separated from said dispensing member by said bellowsfold and having means thereon abutting said dispensing member; and meansfor moving said cap axially of said body portion whereby said cap may bemanipulated to move said dispensing member relative to said valve memberto a closed position or to release said dispensing member for movementto an open position, said dispensing member being of tapered elongateform constituting a discharge nozzle.

6. A dispensing device for a container, comprising: a tubular bodyportion; an apertured dispensing member at one end of said body portionand defining a valve seat; a valve member in said body portion andcooperable with said valve seat to control flow through said dispensingmember; said tubular body portion having a fiexible bellows fold thereinbetween its ends providing for movement of said apertured dispensingmember relative to said valve member; a cap mounted on said body portionat a part thereof separated from said dispensing member by said bellowsfold and having means thereon abutting said dispensing member; and meansfor moving said cap axially of said body portion whereby said cap may bemanipulated to move said dispensing member relative to said valve memberto a closed position or to release said dispensing member for movementto an open position, wherein the said valve member is fixedly mounted insaid body portion on a part thereof separated from said dispensingmember by said bellows fold.

7. A dispensing device according to claim 6, wherein the said valvemember is mounted on an inwardly projecting shoulder in said bodyportion.

8. A dispensing device according to claim 6 wherein the said valvemember is removable from said body and having a mounting portion formedof resilient material so as to enable it to be deformed for insertioninto or removed from the body past said bellows fold, whereafter it willresume its original shape to make supporting engagement with the bodyportion.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,858,558 11/1958Sudbeaz 15572 X 3,090,987 5/1963 Ruekberg 15572 3,106,742 10/1963Schultz et al. 15565 3,128,016 4/1964 Ferri 222-212 3,193,154 7/1965Bross 222-213 CHARLES A. WILLMUTH, Primary Examiner.

S. E. BECK, Assistant Examiner.

1. A DISPENSING DEVICE FOR A CONTAINER, COMPRISING: A TUBULAR BODYPORTION; AN APERTURED DISPENSING MEMBER AT ONE END OF SAID BODY PORTIONAND DEFINING A VALVE SEAT; A VALVE MEMBER IN SAID BODY PORTION ANDCOOPERABLE WITH SAID VALVE SEAT TO CONTROL FLOW THROUGH SAID DISPENSINGMEMBER; SAID TUBULAR BODY PORTION HAVING A PERMANENT BELLOWS FOLDTHEREIN BETWEEN ITS ENDS PROVIDING FOR MOVEMENT OF SAID APERTUREDDISPENSING MEMBER RELATIVE TO SAID VALVE MEMBER; A CAP THREADEDLYMOUNTED ON SAID BODY PORTION AT A PART THEREOF SEPARATED FROM SAIDDISPENSING MEMBER BY SAID BELLOWS FOLD AND HAVING INTERIOR SHOULDERMEANS THEREON ABUTTING A SHOULDER ON SAID DISPENSING MEMBER SPACED FROMSAID VALVE SEAT; WHEREBY SAID CAP MAY BE THREADEDLY MOVED ON SAIDDISPENSING DEVICE RELATIVE TO SAID VALVE MEMBER TO COMPRESS SAID BELLOWSFOLD AND MOVE SAID DISPENSING MEMBER TOWARD SAID VALVE MEMBER TO ACLOSED POSITION OR IN A DIRECTION TO RELEASE SAID DISPENSING MEMBER FORMOVEMENT TO AN OPEN POSITION.